‘Mobile government’ in Ecuador

Grupo FARO, an Ecuadorian non-governmental organisation whose mandate is to monitor public sector governance, carried out its study into 'mobile government' in a number of small, rural municipalities. It main focus was on how ICT could be used to generate centralised services to citizens and, within this context, it set out to investigate public demand for, and possible applications of, mobile phone use to spread governmental information.

Low internet use...

The problem with spreading email-driven or internet-based e-Government services in Ecuador is the relatively low penetration of the internet in the country: only 8.7% compared to a regional average of 20%. Hence the need for a creative strategy. Conversely, mobile phone penetration in Ecuador is very high, especially the use of text messaging. This triggered the idea of using cell phones to enable the municipalities to disseminate public service information. Ideally, the information would thus become available at any time and in any place.

High cell phone use

To get a more precise idea of the spread and use of cell phones, an extensive survey was carried out in December 2008 in relatively small municipalities in the coastal region, the central mountain range, and the Amazonian area of Ecuador. It was found that, even in these rural municipalities, 69% of the people who were surveyed owned a cell phone (as opposed to a national average of 83%). In the cities, both men and women were equally represented, in rural areas the number of women with a cell phone was rather smaller than the men (54% of rural women possess a cell phone compared to 72% of urban women; for men there was hardly any difference at all between those living in the cities and those living in rural areas). Most people were connected through prepaid cards. Very few had subscriptions.

So what type of information do the citizens of Ecuador want?

Mostly information about public works and projects, job offers and, to a lesser extent, administrative issues, plus a host of other issues, such as calls to meetings, workshops, opportunities for obtaining micro-credit, tourist information, sports, etc. The public would also like to be more involved in planning public works, selecting cultural events, budget matters, enrolling for capacity development events, and environmental issues.

Limitations of texting

Given the limitations of texting – only up to 140 characters in Ecuador - what type of information would lend itself particularly well to being sent via mobile phones?  According to the study:

• payments and consultations relating to municipal services and tax issues;
• consultations in connection with property issues;
• job offers.

Squeezing the sometimes very lengthy official notices into a straightjacket of 140 characters will, incidentally, require well-honed writing skills.

So what technical solutions are at hand?

• Unidirectional dissemination through cell phone providers: this is the easiest and  cheapest option with a virtually unlimited number of messages being supported. However, the recipient cannot react to these messages;
• Same as above, but with dissemination being carried out through e-mail: free and operator-independent, but requires internet access; also, the sender has no control over receiving the messages;
• Interactive system.There are various levels of interactivity with this option. However, although it is a more powerful solution, it does require a ‘service integrator’ of the different providers. It is also the most expensive solution requiring, among others, a Systems Manager.

The power of partnerships

Introducing the various levels of interactive use might be gradual, starting at the unidirectional level. Given the level of investment, it is vital that other entities become involved in this as well: particularly telephone companies (as they will receive income through the SMS messages that will be sent) and local government authorities (because of the cost-saving opportunities).